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Altitude favors American riders

No European cracked top five in 2011 USA Pro Cycling Challenge

By John Henderson The Denver Post

Posted:
08/18/2012 11:03:52 PM MDT

Updated:
08/18/2012 11:04:14 PM MDT

DURANGO -- Tom Danielson returned here Saturday as, a city official proclaimed, "Our favorite son." Fort Lewis College's 2001 collegiate mountain bike champion has gone on to fame and fortune in pro cycling, not to mention become a local Yoda when it comes to the USA Pro Challenge.

In front of a packed concert hall at his alma mater, the contender for Boulder-based Team Garmin-Sharp held court on the Pro Challenge toughening up in its second year. The race, which begins here Monday, added two mountaintop finishes to the one at Mt. Crested Butte from a year ago.

Mt. Crested Butte isn't exactly l'Alpe d'Huez, but look at a year ago. When was order established? It was on Stage 1 when Levi Leipheimer won at Mt. Crested Butte to earn the yellow jersey the first time.

"Initially when you look at a route and see a monstrosity of a climb you see a short one and you look at the short one and say, 'Oh, nothing's going to happen on that one,'" Danielson said. "You look at the huge one and go, 'Oh, people are going to be all over the place.' But look at last year on Independence Pass. There were 30 people there.

"Look at the short ones at Crested Butte where Levi won. There were ones and twos all over the place. That was the biggest time gap. You have to be realistic. Altitude does change things. You go once to your limit, then you go back underneath your limit."

Mt. Crested Butte's finishing climb is only 1.2 miles.

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The new finishes at Beaver Creek and Flagstaff Mountain in Boulder are 2½ miles and 3½ miles, respectively.

However, Thursday's Stage 4 from Aspen to Beaver Creek will be entirely at 9,000 feet. By the time they reach the climb to Beaver Creek it'll feel like Mt. Everest.

"Altitude makes the short stuff decisive," Danielson said. "And the level we have here, the first guys punching at the front they're taking everybody past their limit and then the last part all they can do is crawl to the finish.

"That being said, I think Flagstaff is really great. It looks short on paper but as we know, where the climb really starts in Boulder by the campus, it's going to be key. It's definitely not a power climber's climb."

If Vegas put odds on bike racing, the longest odds would be on any non-American. Last year the altitude turned European riders into accidental tourists. Americans finished one through five with Colombian Rafael Infantino Abreu sixth and Australian Cadel Evans, fresh off a Tour de France win, seventh.

The highest-finishing European was Dutchman Stef Clement of Rabobank which this year, ahem, opted for the Vuelta a Espana.

"It's difficult for the Europeans to ride at this kind of elevation for a week," said Italian Vincenzo Nibali, who took third in last month's Tour de France. "It's a big advantage for Americans -- and maybe Tejay (van Garderen)."

Van Garderen, the Boulder resident now with the powerhouse BMC Racing Team, took third in last year's race and is the likely co-favorite along with Leipheimer of Belgium-based Omega Pharma-Quickstep. Danielson and his teammate, Christian Vande Velde, are also contenders with young guns such as 22-year-old Lucas Euser of the Continental (one level below Pro Tour) team, Spidertech, and 21-year-old Italian Moreno Moser of Liquigas worth watching.

The biggest question for Leipheimer and Danielson is health. Danielson separated his shoulder on Stage 6 in the Tour de France and finished 11th in last week's Tour of Utah.

Leipheimer returned remarkably fast from the broken fibula suffered in training in April. His progress this season started with a sixth in the Tour de California, to third in the Tour de Suisse to 32nd in the Tour de France and sixth in last week's Tour of Utah. He topped Utah with Sunday's victory in the brutal final stage up Empire Pass, featuring a 15-percent grade.

Whether he's continuing to peak may be determined in Monday's opening stage from Durango to Telluride, when they go up 10,222-foot Lizard Head Pass.

"That was one of the harder, more difficult (injuries) in my career," Leipheimer said. "But it is what it is. You have no other choice but to work as hard as you can and come back as fast as you can. It's hard to say how much it affected me and what races it affected me but I feel good."

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